Cage Warriors pays for Bellator release, inks Ronnie Mann

Cage Warriors today announced the signing of big-show bantamweight veteran Ronnie Mann to a five-fight deal.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, though a Cage Warriors official told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) the organization paid $5,000 to get him out of his Bellator contract.

Mann will fight exclusively for Cage Warriors over the next 18 months. His debut will come at Cage Warriors 57, which takes place July 20 in England at Liverpool’s Echo Arena. An opponent hasn’t been finalized for his bout, which streams on MMAjunkie.com.

Mann (21-6-1), 26, was born in Thailand and now fights out of England. He turned pro a decade ago and emerged as a top-level featherweight and bantamweight with organizations such as World Victory Road/Sengoku, Shark Fights (where he’s the reigning 145-pound champion), and Bellator, where he went 3-3 with a pair of tourney appearances.

“I’m extremely happy to have signed with Cage Warriors,” Mann stated. “It’s very flattering that they were willing to buy my contract from Bellator.

“(Cage Warriors CEO) Graham Boylan and all the guys at CWFC are great, and I’m very thankful for what they’ve done. In my opinion it’s the best promotion in Europe and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Mann most recently fought in March, when he suffered a decision loss to Rodrigo Lima at Bellator 94. It dropped him to 1-3 in his past four fights following a 20-3-1 start to his career.

“I’d like to thank Bellator for their cooperation in this deal,” Boylan stated. “I don’t like to see fighters not active in the prime of their careers, and Bellator understood that, at his age, Ronnie needed to be busy.”